Now we're in for it.
Condé Nast Publications, which last year managed to soar above the general industry malaise by posting a 5.41 percent jump in ad pages, is slumping in the first half of 2008.
The three big titles - Vogue, Glamour and Vanity Fair - are all flat to down in the first half, according to Media Industry Newsletter, and the outlook is dim for a second half recovery to bail them out.
Only Condé's smaller magazines, such as Bon Appetit or Architectural Digest, have so far defied the trend. But they are not enough to stem the tide of woe at what had been the most recession-resistant company in the business.
Vogue, the company flagship, is flat with a tiny 0.44 percent increase in ad pages to 1,328 for the first half, according to Media Industry Newsletter. Last year, Vogue Publisher Tom Florio managed to hang onto the title of most profitable magazine in the company with a 5 percent jump in ad pages to 3,222.71.
The company's second most profitable magazine, Glamour, is down markedly this year after posting a record-setting year in 2007 under Publisher Bill Wackerman.
Vanity Fair Publisher Edward Menicheschi powered that title to a 16.7 percent increase in ad pages last year to 2,262 - the biggest increase of any of the established magazines at Condé Nast.
This year, ad pages slumped 8.74 percent to 839.4 in the first half of the year.